The 18-year-old’s mother, Brandy Roberson, shared the story on her Facebook page on Friday, along with a photo of a handwritten note on a coffee cup from the barista to her daughter.
“Are you okay? Do you want us to intervene? If you do, take the lid off the cup,” the message stated.
According to the Texas woman while speaking with TODAY Food, her daughter, who preferred to remain anonymous, studied alone at a Starbucks in Corpus Christi on a Saturday evening.
“She wanted to get out of the house and go sit and study somewhere. She likes to go study at coffee shops,” she wrote via email.
Roberson’s daughter received “an extra hot chocolate someone forgot to pick up” from the barista after a conversation with a stranger.
Upon returning home, the teenager told her mother about the incident, which made her heart melt.
“She was holding the cup and knew that I would love that someone did that for her,” Roberson said.
“It made me feel so grateful that the Starbucks employees were watching out for her. As a mom, that is my worst fear that something would happen to my child and nobody would be there to help.”
Her daughter described how the adult gentleman lingered for a while and talked “fairly loudly.”
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“It sounded like he was quite animated. I believe this is what alerted the employees. He had also not come in with my daughter, so they knew she probably did not know him,” she said.
The teenager thanked the barista for being so kind and assured them (Starbucks workers) that she was safe. A short time later, the man realized that the 18-year-old was communicating with the staff and went about his business..
Starbucks declined to comment on TODAY Food’s inquiry for more information.
Ms. Robinson said that she had no idea her story would go viral, and that all she wanted to do was express gratitude for the employee’s thoughtfulness. Nonetheless, she’s glad that it has put a spotlight on local workers.
“I am incredibly grateful to the staff there. I hope that we can all learn from them and be willing to help anyone who seems that they might need help,” she said.
